The Old Guard

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Memorial Day 2020

May 25, 2020 by 2 Comments

Memorial Day this year is different. While the country is starting to reopen from government-ordered quarantines and stay-at-home orders, there won’t be the parades, Boy Scouts haven’t been allowed to put out flags at veterans graves, and access to Arlington National Cemetery is restricted to family members with the requisite passes.

Some things will remain as they always have. The Tomb Guards from the Third Infantry Regiment will still guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The difference this year is that they will do it without spectators.

Perhaps this is how it should be. The solemnity of their job as sentinels for the fallen is not to impress the tourists but to honor those who died for this country who are known only to God.

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Memorial Day

May 27, 2019 by

The 3rd Infantry Regiment or The Old Guard is the oldest active duty infantry regiment in the US Army. They are charged with providing the casket teams at Arlington National Cemetery. The soldiers in these teams perform this duty with solemnity and reverence for the fallen. My best friend’s son John served as a platoon leader with the 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment after his service in Afghanistan.

On this Memorial Day, I’d also like to remember my father. He is not buried in Arlington but is buried next to his parents and siblings in North Carolina. He served in WWII in the Caribbean, served in Germany as part of the Army of Occupation during the 1950s, served in Korea post-Korean war, and finally served in South Vietnam for two tours of duty. He was medically retired in 1972 and passed away nine years later in 1981. He was 62 and 10 days old when he died in his sleep. This year I passed a milestone as I have now outlived my dad.

The footstone provided by the military makes it seem like he died on his birthday. His actual birthday was April 3rd and not the 13th. I think my mother made the decision not to force them to correct it.

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Thank God For Soldiers Like This

August 28, 2011 by 3 Comments

Hurricane Irene is making its way up the East Coast as I write. In the midst of the heavy winds and the driving rain, there is a special breed of soldier who is braving the bad weather to continue to honor the brave soldiers that gave their all. This solider is an Tomb Sentinel with the 3rd Infantry Regiment – the Old Guard. They have guarded the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every minute of every day since April 6, 1948.

The pictures below were taken today at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and are posted on the 3rd Infantry Regiment’s Facebook page.